Adil Ray has spoken out after receiving “nothing but” racist messages in the wake of Suella Braverman’s comments about “British-Pakistani males”.
Speaking about the government crackdown on child sexual abuse on Sunday (2 April), the home secretary singled out British-Pakistani men as she alluded to grooming cases in Rotherham and Rochdale.
Braverman pointed to a “predominance of certain ethnic groups – and I say British Pakistani males – who hold cultural values totally at odds with British values, who see women in a demeaned and illegitimate way and pursue an outdated and frankly heinous approach in terms of the way they behave”.
Braverman was subsequently accused of “dog whistle” politics, while the NSPCC argued that only considering race could create new “blind spots”.
During a discussion on Good Morning Britain on Thursday (6 April) about the government’s refugee policy, Ray shared his fear that the country was becoming more divided.
“We had another divide this week… with hercomments about the community that I belong to, the British-Pakistani community. There is something really, I think, that needs to be really looked at in this country right now, that we are divided,” he said.
“I have suffered, since last Sunday, since Suella Braverman going onto breakfast television and labelling British Pakistani men – with no caveats, no kindness, no compassion – simply labelling British Pakistani men [as having] an issue when it comes to English white girls. I have suffered nothing but racism for the last seven days.”
Kate Garraway said that the racism aimed at Ray had been “unsettling and unheard of” for him, with her co-host adding: “It’s really bad…. It’s coming from all corners.”
Mentioning the 2011 documentary he made about grooming by Pakistani men, Ray continued: “Yes, there is an issue. But statistics now have proven, the Home Office’s own report has proven, that they’re not over-represented. It’s still white majority people who are responsible for sex abuse.”
The Independent has contacted Braverman’s office for comment.
